Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Chapter 177 The snow will stop tomorrow morning

Qi Xiao hid in a valley. He had no dry firewood and could not light a fire. The wind and snow were unbearable, and the dark night with constant wind and snow was even more unbearable.

When they fell, two people died on the spot. The others were injured to varying degrees. One of them broke his leg, with the leg bone piercing the flesh and sticking out. They finally stopped his bleeding, but he didn't even make it through the first night. The next night, two more people froze to death.

By now, there were only twelve of them left, four of whom had high fevers and it was unknown whether they could survive the night.

As soon as they fell, Qi Xiao knew the situation was dire. The ravine wasn't too deep, estimated to be about three people tall. Normally, Qi Xiao and Zong Sheng could have climbed up, but the snowstorm was so strong that they had nowhere to lean on. Their cries were swallowed by the wind and snow, and they couldn't hear anything from the people above.

Qi Xiao immediately divided the people into two groups. The injured took care of the seriously injured and counted the dry food. The lightly injured and those who were still able to move followed him to dig in the ravine. Before dark, they dug a hole in the mountain wall and barely allowed everyone to hide in it and huddle together for warmth.

In order to prevent the cave entrance from being blocked by wind and snow, they had to shovel snow every half hour and melt some of it into water to drink.

After four days, the cave had been dug much larger. They piled large rocks outside the cave entrance to block some of the cold wind and snow. As long as the gaps between the rocks were not completely blocked, they would not suffocate and would still have some strength to shovel snow.

Qi Xiao half-crouched and returned to the cave, to Zong Sheng's side, shaking the snow in his robe onto Zong Sheng. Zong Sheng had been running a fever for two days. Qi Xiao was worried that others would get cold, but he was even more afraid that Zong Sheng's fever would get too high.

When Zong Sheng fell, he used his body to cushion Qi Xiao in order to protect him, and his back was severely bruised, but Zong Sheng said nothing. It was not until he had a fever that Qi Xiao realized that the wounds on his back were festering and a mess.

"Master, has the snow stopped?"

"No."

"it's dark?"

"Yeah." Qi Xiao gently wiped Zong Sheng's forehead with snow. His body was very hot and his face looked very bad. Qi Xiao had never seen him so sick.

Zong Sheng closed his eyes and said softly, "The snow will stop by tomorrow morning."

That’s what Zong Sheng said yesterday…

The wind and snow continued, but it was finally no longer as violent and rampant, allowing people to finally see some light.

At noon, the sky was no longer a desolate darkness. Some faint light finally appeared, mixed in with the flying snow, glowing white, like mist.

Chi Yue was determined to go look for the person, and Tang Ling promised to let him go at dawn, regardless of whether the snow stopped or not.

Tang Ling personally handed Chi Yue a package: "There are dry food, firecrackers and fireworks, and ropes in it."

Chi Yue took it and said, "Thank you."

Tang Ling then handed Chi Yue another small bag: "Keep this close to your body. The white porcelain bottle contains the medicine Qinglan prepared, which can save your life in a critical moment. The celadon bottle contains medicine for external injuries."

Chi Yue put the bag into his arms and hid it close to his body: "I'm leaving."

"There's one more thing." Tang Ling handed Chi Yue a silver whistle. "Qi Xiao gave it to me. He said his eagle can recognize the sound of a whistle. If the wind and snow aren't too strong, his eagle should be able to find you by following the sound."

Qi Xiao's swift eagle recognized its master, and Bai Xiqiao was flapping its big wings several times when he went to feed it.

"I'll bring him back."

When Chi Yue turned around, Tang Ling added, "They will be fine. Your life is more important."

Chi Yue didn't respond and disappeared in a flash. Tang Ling lowered her head and couldn't help but sigh deeply. They will all be fine.

***

The wind and snow outside the valley were as sharp as knives. Chi Yue ignored the pain, identified the direction, and rushed against the wind.

According to Tang Ling's estimation, the place where Qi Xiao and Bai Xiqiao were separated should be about fifteen miles away from the camp. Chi Yue carefully calculated his pace and looked left and right on the way, for fear of missing any clues.

When he returned from Baixi Bridge, the snow and wind were so strong that he couldn't leave a careful mark. He was afraid that he would not be able to find the place when he came back, so he cut a cross on the trunks of five surrounding trees.

If you find those five trees, you will have a chance to find Qi Xiao.

But all Chi Yue could see was white snow, and the tree trunks were covered with a thick layer of ice and snow. Not to mention the marks on the trunks, even if all five trees were cut down, they would surely be buried under the snow by now, with no trace to be found.

Fifteen miles later, Chi Yue stood in the snow and looked around. The snow was vast and the wind and snow had subsided a lot. He could see the sunlight slowly shining on the snow.

Chi Yue had no good solution and could only search, tree by tree. As he searched, the wind and snow became weaker and weaker, as if God was trying to help him. Around noon, he finally found it.

Chi Yue held onto the tree trunk, took a deep breath, jumped onto the tree, hung up the firecrackers and lit them.

A loud crackling sound exploded in the mountains, like bursts of thunder, scaring away the wind and snow.

"Your Majesty!"

"Firecrackers! It's firecrackers!"

Qi Xiao heard this and couldn't help but smile. The wind and snow had stopped, help had arrived, and they had finally made it. Qi Xiao shouted, "Hurry! Let's get back to camp!"

This morning, the wind and snow gradually subsided, so Qi Xiao asked everyone to pack up and prepare to find a way back.

The snow in the ravine was already higher than a man, and they piled the dug stones under their feet, barely able to climb up.

Qi Xiao was good at martial arts, so he could go up, but it was very difficult for the others. Some were sick or injured. Even those who were not sick or had minor injuries were dizzy after being hungry for several days and had no strength left in their bodies.

Qi Xiao clung to the cliff face with his hands and feet, and said to the people below, "A Zheng, I'll take you up first. Go and bring the people over."

"Your Majesty, please go first."

"Stop talking nonsense." Qi Xiao reached down, pulled the man up, let A Zheng step on his shoulders, and then pushed the man up.

One A Zheng was not enough, so Qi Xiao pulled up two people whose hands and feet were not injured.

Ah Zheng quickly brought Chi Yue over.

"Your Highness?!"

"Chi Yue? Hurry up and help pull him up."